One of the finest country albums of the 1970s, LULLABYS, LEGENDS AND LIES marks a crucial point in Bobby Bare's career. Bare already had a body of impressive work behind him by the early '70s, but recording an entire album of tunes by Shel Silverstein (of "A Boy Named Sue" fame) gave him an extra dimension of humor, looseness, and rowdy, left-of-center "outlaw" cred. Living up to the album's title, Silverstein's songs are often wild, absurd, larger-than-life accounts of unusual places and people, and Bare's warm, amiable, charismatic vocal presence is the perfect vehicle to bring them to life. As estimable as the catalogs of Bare and Silverstein are, this album is probably the peak for both.